Critical Care&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

How do you decide on the timing and number of blood cultures for suspected endocarditis given the differences in recommendations between the ESC guidelines and the Duke Criteria?

The ESC guidelines recommend obtaining at least three sets of blood cultures at 30-minute intervals before starting antibiotic therapy, each with 10 m...

4 Answers available

When do you recommend limited or targeted respiratory pathogen testing versus a full respiratory pathogen panel in a patient presenting with URI symptoms?

In other words, are there benefits to identifying URI pathogens that do not necessarily have targeted therapies (e.g., rhinovirus, non-COVID-19 Corona...

In drawing blood cultures from a central line to evaluate for CLABSI, do you advise drawing separate blood cultures from each port in case of dual or triple lumen line?

If yes, what is the rationale for doing that?

What is your preferred laboratory test to assess treatment response or infection resolution in patients with bacterial pneumonia?

For example, do you find trending WBC, procalcitonin, CRP, etc., more or less helpful?

Do you recommend treating Candida albicans on urine culture from an indwelling catheter in a patient with septic shock?

Which biomarkers or diagnostic tools do you prioritize to support the decision to start antifungal treatment in septic patients with no clear source of infection but at high risk for fungal infections?

4 Answers available

What is the recommended fungal workup in an immunocompromised patient after 5 days of persistent fever?

Do you involve additional specialists, such as ENT, to further evaluate? Is there a particular algorithm followed by your institution, or it is just d...

What is your approach to treatment of patients with fulminant C difficile infection who required ileostomy creation or colectomy?

Is there a role for oral vancomycin in these patients, or is oral vancomycin redundant if other routes of administration are being used (i.e intracolo...

Have you incorporated the use of linezolid in lieu of vancomycin plus clindamycin for empiric treatment of necrotizing fasciitis?

Do you use steroids in the management of PJP pneumonia with severe hypoxia in HIV negative patients?

Data on the role of steroids in HIV negative patients with PJP has been conflicting.

Do you routinely perform echocardiography in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia deemed low risk for metastatic infection, or do you selectively omit it based on specific clinical criteria?

Hendriks, et al., PMID 38576380

Do you administer prophylactic antibiotics to prevent VAP following intubation in patients with acute brain injury?

Do the findings of the PROPHY-VAP trial influence your approach?

Do you choose an antibiotic with CSF penetration, such as nafcillin over cefazolin, in the setting of MSSA endocarditis with septic emboli to the brain (assuming no concomitant meningitis or brain abscess)?

Do you consider use of convalescent plasma early in disease course in COVID-19 induced ARDS in mechanically ventilated patients?

Do the results of the recent study (Misset et al., PMID 37889107) showing reduction in 28-day mortality in patients with high neutralizing antibody ti...

Is there a role for repeat surveillance blood cultures in patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis without associated cardiac abscess after a 6 week course of antibiotic treatment without surgical intervention?

Should checking a urinalysis with reflex to culture be part of the standard work up for fever in an ICU patient with a urinary catheter?

Do you use steroids in patients with respiratory failure who are infected with both influenza and COVID-19?

How do you approach which risk to accept given that steroids have evidence for use in COVID-19 while is suggestion for harm in using steroids in influ...